CIRITH UNGOL (Heavy Metal – USA) – Set to release the EP “Half Past Human” via Metal Blade Records May 28, 2021 #CirithUngol

We have added a small number of die hard Half Past Human bundles to Bandcamp for this Bandcamp Friday! Grab yours before it’s too late: https://cirithungolofficial.bandcamp.com/…/half-past…

Includes…
-12″ Yellow marble vinyl LP (exclusive to bundle)
-Cassette (yellow shell, exclusive to bundle)
-Digipak CD
-Brutish Manchild vinyl Flexi 7″ as featured in Decibel Magazine
-(3) Art prints from Rob Garven’s original drawings from the 70’s (exclusive to bundle)
-Half Past Human T-shirt (avail. in sizes S – 3XL)

There has been a lot of interest in the bands early history and material.
We decided to dust off a few old Cirith Ungol classics and breathe new life
and new energy into them!

All four songs have a common theme, a sinister beastly imagery which
flows all the way through to the cover art.

Sit down, strap in, and crank it up!!!

TRACK LISTING
-Route 666
-Shelob’s Lair
-Brutish Manchild
-Half Past Human

NOTE: Product will ship in June 2021

What’s old has become new again.  On May 28, 2021, Ventura, California’s masters of heavy metal chaos, Cirith Ungol, strike back with a very special EP entitled Half Past Human.  The globe was ravaged by pandemic in the wake of the release of the band’s triumphant reunion album Forever Black in April 2020.  Carefully laid tour plans were dashed.  As time stood still, Cirith Ungol dug deep into their archival crypts, drawing back the veiled mists of history to expose long-forgotten jewels from their storied past.  In so doing, the band exhumed four songs written in a bygone era but never properly included as part of their fabled discography.  Cirith Ungol swept the dust off these precious relics, summoning long-dead forces back to life.  Each song was reimagined for today, injected with a fresh dose of power and vitality while preserving their trademark mysticism and remaining drenched in sinister, apocalyptic energy.  Recorded under the watchful eye of producer Armand John Anthony (Night Demon / Bewitcher / Gygax) in the darkness of 2020, Half Past Human promises to be a treasured addition to the music collections of Cirith Ungol’s loyal legions.  In keeping with tradition, the package is completed by stunning cover art courtesy of acclaimed fantasy artist Michael Whelan, from the original Elric series.

Half Past Human will be released via Metal Blade Records on digipak CD, vinyl and digital download on May 28, 2021.

Cirith Ungol was formed in Ventura, California, in the early 1970s, long before the rigid tropes and ironclad traditions that define today’s heavy metal genre had taken shape.  There was no rulebook, no template to follow, so Cirith Ungol simply made it up as they went along.  According to drummer Robert Garven, even in those early days, the band’s burning ambition was to play “the heaviest metal known to man.”  Cirith Ungol’s lyrical approach was profoundly influenced by the high fantasy literature of J.R.R. Tolkien (from whose Lord of the Rings opus they derived their name) and Michael Moorcock.  Between 1981 and 1991, Cirith Ungol released four acclaimed full-length albums, including the legendary King of the Dead (1984) and One Foot in Hell (1986).  Despite amassing a passionate cult following on both sides of the Atlantic, commercial and financial success eluded Cirith Ungol, prompting Garven and vocalist Tim Baker to lay the band to rest in May 1992.

On October 8, 2016, Cirith Ungol officially returned to the stage by headlining the Frost and Fire II festival at the Majestic Ventura Theater, playing to a packed house of fans who had converged on the band’s hometown of Ventura, California to witness the kings of the dead rise from the grave.  This night was vindication.  In Garven’s words, “When the ancient stars aligned, Cirith Ungol crawled out of its ancient slumber, to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world.”  Two days later, fresh off their Frost and Fire triumph, the band were honored by the City of Ventura, which proclaimed October 10, 2016 to be Cirith Ungol Day.

In the ensuing years, Cirith Ungol have held fast to their objective to bring their music to as many fans around the world as possible, performing select high-profile festival gigs spanning North America, Europe and South America.  In 2019, the band released an expansive double-live album, multi-DVD package and box set.  Entitled I’m Alive, these recordings captured Cirith Ungol at the peak of their darkened, mystical powers before rapturous crowds in Greece and Germany.  In April 2020, Cirith Ungol rewarded their rabid fanbase’s patience and loyalty with Forever Black, their first collection of all-new material in nearly three decades.  Acclaimed by critics and fans alike, Forever Black is a testament to the band’s continuing vitality and enduring primacy in the classic metal pantheon.  It is a continuation of the Cirith Ungol mythology, and a defiant fist to the face of any unbelievers who doubted the band’s unshakable resolve and burning dedication to their arcane and mysterious craft.  Now the legacy grows with the release of the Half Past Human EP.

As Robert Garven is fond of saying, Cirith Ungol remains “A Churning Maelstrom of Metal Chaos Descending!”  Long may they reign!

Lineup:

Tim Baker – Vocals

Greg Lindstrom – Guitar

Robert Garven – Drummer

Jim Barraza – Guitar

Jarvis Leatherby – Bass

Cirith Ungol Online:

https://www.facebook.com/cirithungolofficial 

https://www.instagram.com/cirithungolband

https://www.bandsintown.com/en/a/65110-cirith-ungol

https://www.songkick.com/artists/558127-cirith-ungol 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoMWXf9j2hdkTAx9Hpx0fPA 

Selected Discography:

1981 – Frost and Fire

1984 – King of the Dead

1986 – One Foot in Hell

1991 – Paradise Lost

2019 – I’m Alive (Live Album + DVD)

2020 – Forever Black

bio by Kit Ekman